'Buddhist tope. [Shayambunath]'

Reference URL

The white plastered dome of the Swayambhunath Temple of Adi Buddha crowns the summit of the Padmachala Hill to the west of Kathmandu. It is surrounded by additional chapels, pilgrim rest houses and shops. The most important centre of Buddhist worship in Nepal, the temple is commonly believed to be over two thousand years old. This view of the shrine, with its cluster of smaller stupas (a mound-like structure which contain Buddhist relics) in the foreground, formed a popular composition for both artists and photographers from the 1850s onwards.

Composition

Details

Acc. No.PGP 116.92

MediumAlbumen print

Size23.00 x 28.80 cm

CreditPresented by Patrick Cave Browne, 1985

Fred Bremner (Scottish, 1863 - 1941)

Fred Bremner, the son of a professional photographer in Banff, travelled to India in 1882 and worked there for nearly forty years. He moved all the time, covering vast distances to photograph colonial officers and their families as well as members of the native aristocracy. Bremner was fascinated by the Indian caste system, publishing a volume in 1897 titled 'Types of the Indian Army' illustrating the 'various races' enlisted as troops.